Do you have an indoor cat?

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Cariethra said:
We use the corn based World’s Best. It is expensive, but we don’t have to buy it as often as the sand litter. That stuff is amazing.
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I also use World’s best and is one of the best litters. Last longer than the other ones and controls odor. Another one I use is Arm and Hammer clumping cat litter. Great odor control and is very reasonably priced.
 
We like the Sam’s Club generic stuff. It does ok. Either that or Tidy Cats. I don’t think there’s any way to get rid of smell completely.
 
Stella_Matutina said:
You can flush the scoops? I always thought you couldn’t flush that kind of litter only “natural” litters like Feline Pine.

We use Tidy Cats and scoop EVERYDAY!
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I wouldn’t flush any of this. Just scoop, keep lots of plastic bags on hand and toss. Talk about a plumbing nightmare!
 
I have one cat, and use Tidy Cats Multiple Cats clumping. Works great! Of course, you also need to scoop frequently.

I’ve also recently discovered an Arm and Hammer odor neutralizing spray that I’ll use in his box after I’ve scooped. Though he’s neutered, his urine still smells REALLY strong, and I’m not up to scooping multiple times per day. This spray has enzymes in it which digest the odor-causing stuff; I highly recommend it. (It is marketed specifically for this purpose, so look in that area of the grocery store.)
 
We also use Tidy Cats. You have to buy the stuff in the plastic bins, though, not the large bags. The large bags contain a different formulation which does not work nearly as well. The bags are much cheaper and that is the reason. Of the ones in the plastic bins, between the “red” one and the “blue” one, the blue one works the best.

The plastic Tidy Cats is expensive but it is worth it in terms of how easily it scoops and how well it masks the smell. The blue-labeled one has a clean smell to it that actually does seem to freshen the area.
 
NSFrame said:
We also use Tidy Cats. You have to buy the stuff in the plastic bins, though, not the large bags. The large bags contain a different formulation which does not work nearly as well. The bags are much cheaper and that is the reason. Of the ones in the plastic bins, between the “red” one and the “blue” one, the blue one works the best.

The plastic Tidy Cats is expensive but it is worth it in terms of how easily it scoops and how well it masks the smell. The blue-labeled one has a clean smell to it that actually does seem to freshen the area.
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I forgot about the bag-vs-plastic-container distinction with Tidy Cats, but I learned that the hard way. The blue one is the multiple cats variety, and I’ve also found that it works much better.
 
UbiCaritas said:
I forgot about the bag-vs-plastic-container distinction with Tidy Cats, but I learned that the hard way. The blue one is the multiple cats variety, and I’ve also found that it works much better.
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We learned the hard way too :doh2: I hope you are not currently changing cat litter though!
 
Like Cat said, I also like to take my litter box outside and blast it with the hose!

My 2 cats have a box with a cover - makes it kind of look like a little doghouse. My old male cat was starting to have bad aim and some of his urine would hit the wall, so this took care of that problem. It also seems to cut down on the odor, unless someone does a super-stinky and doesn’t bury it! I’ve heard some cats don’t like the covered boxes, though, but my cats don’t seem to mind it at all.

I tried the World’s Best Cat Litter when I lived in Florida, but I had to stop using it because the cockroaches loved to EAT it! I had a cockroach infestation in the litter box! I had to switch back to Tidy Cats.

Now I live in Pennsylvania and don’t have any cockroaches, but my female cat decided she did not like World’s Best, so we are back to Tidy Cat again. 🤷
 
We use Tidy Cat Lightweight. It’s the same size as regular litter except it’s 8 lbs instead of 25 and considering we’re college students who have to take the subway and walk, it’s a life saver.

I highly recommend it. We’ve used others and my apartment would STINK because the litter itself smelled terrible and did nothing to mask the odor of urine.
 
Also, invest in a Litter Genie. It’s a mini trashcan meant for litter and it does an AMAZING job at keeping in the odor. My kittens use the litter box often so I lean it about 3 times a day or whenever I go into the bathroom. Before we got the Litter Genie I would have to go downstairs and throw away the garbage any time they used the litter box or else it would smell and in cold weather early in the morning or late at night, it’s not fun to do. Now we can go a few days without doing that and it won’t smell at all.

here’s a link to the target page for it target.com/p/litter-genie-cat-litter-disposal-system/-/A-14030031#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=xat+genie
 
NSFrame said:
We learned the hard way too :doh2: I hope you are not currently changing cat litter though!
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Sadly, DH has business trips which mean that I have to. 😦 However, fear not–I’m obsessively careful. Hair tied up, gloves, dustmask, full-length cleaning apron, and the apron gets thrown immediately into the washing machine on a hot cycle afterwards.
 
I think it depends upon the cat. With my first cat, I used Fresh Step. I use Tidy Cats with the cat I have now; it didn’t neutralize odor in the first cat’s litter box.
 
I don’t voluntarily have an indoor cat. I have three outdoor cats that try to get indoors. My wife caused that by feeding them indoors when they were little. I am now in the process of breaking them of the belief that they will be fed indoors. Think I’m making progress.

I do owe them, though. We live in the country and are mouse-free, which is really hard to accomplish in the country. Now and then I observe them through a window, hunting. Kind of neat to watch them do that. I think they do it no matter how much you feed them. They are instinctive hunters, and very good ones. Their stealth, grace and speed is a marvel to see.

sorry I can’t be of any help with the litter box thing. My litter box is the woods behind the house, and I don’t do anything with it.
 
My in-laws used the Litter Kwitter to train their cats to use the toilet. They say it works! The cats now use the regular toilet and they just periodically flush it when they notice the cat has used it.
 
I have 2 indoor cats. Pretty consistently buy the Arm and Hammer brand. The good thing about it is that it clumps, but it is not too dusty. Some can be really bad! I will say that in the beginning I tried Feline Pine and, though I love the idea of it, it was terrible. The pee turned the pine pellets into cement! It was horrible trying to scrap that out.
 
LizLemon74 said:
I have 2 indoor cats. Pretty consistently buy the Arm and Hammer brand. The good thing about it is that it clumps, but it is not too dusty. Some can be really bad! I will say that in the beginning I tried Feline Pine and, though I love the idea of it, it was terrible. The pee turned the pine pellets into cement! It was horrible trying to scrap that out.
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I have had no problem with the pellets after the cat uses them. I do use a little shovel to move the litter around after she urinates so that I bring up the full pellet from the bottom of the box. What I really like about Feline Pine is that there is no odor nor any cover-up smell.
 
Oh my goodness, dealing with litter sounds like a full time job!
 
I see plenty of good recommendations here. Just in case: If you have a dog make sure your kitty box is where ‘Fido’ can’t get to eat. It’s gross but dogs love cat poo and will eat it if they get a chance. (Gag!!) The litter that may be included with this can kill a dog by blocking up their intestines. It is a very serious issue and not easily or cheaply remedied.
(This happened to our grandmothers dog, with only one chance to get at the box.) It cost over $3K to treat him. Had grandma not been the one paying for this at the time we would have had to put him to sleep.)

As others have said clean the box well. We scoop daily and wash weekly. Kitty will find a more suitable place to do business if the box is dirty. Good luck.
 
Iheartcoffee said:
My in-laws used the Litter Kwitter to train their cats to use the toilet. They say it works! The cats now use the regular toilet and they just periodically flush it when they notice the cat has used it.
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I wish we had done that with our cats. It is fun to teach animals to do this kind of thing. Dogs can learn too.
 
UbiCaritas said:
Sadly, DH has business trips which mean that I have to. 😦 However, fear not–I’m obsessively careful. Hair tied up, gloves, dustmask, full-length cleaning apron, and the apron gets thrown immediately into the washing machine on a hot cycle afterwards.
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There are perks to pregnancy, one of which is usually avoiding cat duty, so sorry :). But it sounds like you’re safe. My niece actually did get toxoplasmosis from cat litter so I’m always vigilant about that issue.
 
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